Still ‘Not Impressed’ with McKayla Maroney? Here’s Why You Should Be

By Danny Rubin

Ever since Maroney won silver in London and flashed that oh-so-serious grin, America can’t get enough.

A Facebook page and Tumblr account burst onto the scene last week and declared Maroney’s disgruntled look the official Internet meme of the moment.

So when Maroney and the other members of the ‘Fab Five’ US gymnastics team went on ‘Letterman’ last week, the teen had but one choice when asked about her infamous expression.

She owned up to it.

http://youtu.be/c8KEQwiBjGQ

Maroney is a serious athlete and probably a ruthless competitor. You can tell by her general disposition at the Olympics. The other American gymnasts had more of a happy-go-lucky vibe.

Not Maroney. She was all business.

So the ‘not impressed’ face is just part of her personality. Why run from it?

Smartly, she didn’t. She embraced her deadpan demeanor and, in doing so, went from Internet punchline to something far more endearing.

We all have funny habits or ways of acting. If you’re of the male persuasion, your boys probably rip on you for that habit every chance they get. That’s what guys do.

And at the office, a quirk can fast become the butt of jokes from co-workers.

It’s no use fighting ‘your thing’ because the secret’s out. So the only real option is to accept it and laugh at yourself.

Maroney did that, and now she just has to let the meme run its course. By my calculation, it’s got about two days left until we’re onto something else. (Still, she remained top-0f-mind in American pop culture for well over a week. Impressive, given our short attention span.)

In our own lives, being the object of ridicule doesn’t last nearly that long — assumingwe join the party too.

Maroney proved that making fun of herself is a win-win. She showed America that she can take a joke, and people admired for it.

It’s as if we all said collectively, ‘Ya know? That girl’s all right.’

We laughed, she laughed and life goes on.

And the only thing that truly stands the test of time: her Olympic medal.